


When it Rains

by KauHuf



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Breath of the Wild Spoilers, I'm still salty about this game, There is cussing so, Zelda - Freeform, be aware, botw, link - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 19:19:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14119143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KauHuf/pseuds/KauHuf
Summary: Based off a real in-game experience! Has this ever happened to you? You’re climbing a mountain, you have a goal in mind, and then the dark clouds above split open and curse your plans? Isn’t Breath of the Wild fun? On a serious note, this is based off ONE of my interpretations of Link. I have a few.If people like this, maybe I’ll add more; share the rest of my ideas of Link? IDK, let’s see.





	When it Rains

**Author's Note:**

> I love the Horses in BOTW, there all good. Also, this was not read by anyone but me soo....there's probs mistakes. Just point them out, I'll correct them!

It was raining.

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t have been a problem. It rained all the time in East Necluda, often enough that Link would just pull up his hood and keep walking, but he was still pissed. It had been clear skies for the first half of the day and the hike had gone well, he’d even stopped to roast some mushrooms and fruit while admiring the view.

But of _course_ , the moment he starts actually _climbing_ the mountain, it starts pouring. No dark clouds on the horizon, no smell of far-off rain, no rumbling thunder in the distance that always set his ears twitching, not a damn thing.

But now, Link was halfway up Tuft Mountain and basically stuck in a small crevice barely big enough to crouch in, _because it was fucking raining_.

Link snarled and pushed himself further against the rock. It wasn’t completely smooth, so he was having a hard time keeping purchase on the slick surface. There was also one sharp edge pressing painfully into his back, reminding him that he was, indeed stuck there.

_I could paraglide down and try to wait it out…it would take a while, and I’d have to climb back up though._

Link glared at the distant clouds that showed no sign of stopping anytime soon. The air smelled earthy and electric, and while the crevice was small, it was probably the safest place to be in a lightning storm.

_I could also just use the slate to head to the nearest stable. I could take a horse, and ride back._ Link sighed and let his head fall forward, water droplets slowly pooling on the ends of his uncut hair. _As if any of the girls want to ride in the rain._

All of Link’s horses were girls. It hadn’t been intentional, and he didn’t have a problem with it as they were all good girls. He loved each of them and tried not to pick favorites (they could tell when he did), but Kettle was certainly special.

She was almost entirely black save for a white diamond shape on her nose, and she had deep brown intelligent eyes. It had taken days of tracking and patience to earn her trust, but now Link couldn’t imagine traveling without her.

_She might actually tolerate getting wet. Now lightning…_

To punctuate his thought, a flash of light dashed across the sky followed by booming thunder. Far below him, he could see flames beginning to grow.

_…not so much. She’d probably buck me off and head back to her paddock._

_“_ Horseshit.” He mumbled trying to scoot back more. “Hylia _curse_ my curiosity. Just had to see what was at the top. I could be curled up at an inn right now. Or well on my way to the next shrine.”

He stretched his back as far as he could and managed to slip the sheikah slate off his hip, maneuvering the screen with one hand. The map still had empty bits where he had barely traveled but the towers were clear points of light, the area around towns marked with red and green and pink. They were remindrs of good places to hide, good places to sleep, good place to hunt. Hateno was almost blotted out with how much he had marked up his apparent home-he couldn’t remember anything from his life before, but he _knew_ the small bustling village was where he was supposed to be.

The area around the castle, however, was unmarked.

Link rubbed his thumb over the spec that was his village before looking for a marker as close to the Mountain as possible.

_I should have stopped at that shrine I saw. Looked like a hassle, but it could have been a good place to rest…I could go to this stable, but the walk back would take a while, even on horseback._

Link groaned and let his head rest against the slate's screen. “Why did it have to rain now?  The skies were so clear. Wait.”

Link clicked through the slates screens and checked its forecast. He still wasn’t sure how it knew these things and simply called it magic.

The Princess had tried to explain it to him once, a long ago in a memory he had recovered, saying it was science and an incredibly advanced technology. He remembered not really understanding much of it, but she had been excited so he humored her by nodding whenever she had looked up at him.

The slate predicted rain for the next hour with a small break in between of about five minutes.

Maybe. If he was lucky.

Link sighed and peered up at the sky, rain dripping down his neck and into his tunic. Sitting in the crevice was not ideal, and even with all his stubbornness, he wasn’t stupid. The rock would still be slick even as the rain stopped, and he still had halfway to go.

“Why…why can’t I just be done?” He murmured. He hadn’t realized how aching his muscles were until this moment, how unruly and in desperate need of help his hair was. He’d been pursuing his main mission of save the Princess so fervently; he hadn’t really stopped for a rest.

_The Princess…._

Link felt…no connection to her. Admitting it to himself always left him feeling guilty and hollow.

If he wasn’t her knight, what was he?

Who was he?

_I can’t even call her by her proper name…_

 Were they even on a first name basis? Sometimes, it felt like they had been. He remembered her showing him her favorite flowers, laughing with her, riding with her, and even getting into trouble. They _must_ have been close, at some point.

But if they had been so close, why did she feel so distant?

_Because it’s been 100 years…I’m basically a different person._

 He winced, and not just because of the pain in his back. It was a glaring point in Link’s mind, one he had realized only days after waking up. He chose to ignore it, but like the clouds on the horizon, it lingered there, ominously. He wasn’t the stoic man he once had been, and it threw of his once ago friends and family. He knew they still cared for him of course, but it was different now.

He was different now.

A crack of thunder struck the ground below him suddenly and Link flinched.

“…”

He curled up into the crack, trying to focus on the sound of the rain, take his mind away from the murky feelings of lost he tried so hard to ignore.

“…I need a break.” He finally whispered. The slate glowed on his lap and Link looked up briefly to see it now read that the storm would be clearing out shortly.

A small smile tugged his lips, and he pressed in the coordinates for his village.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this! BOTW is currently my favorite game, the Switch my favorite console! I love Link as a character, even though his story and personality are fairly simple. I guess I'm drawn to what people make of him. For example, I played a very salty, easily sidetracked Link. I get it, Zelda is trapped in the castle but seriously...I feel no connection to her.  
> Thoughts? Comments? Critiques? Cool stories to share? Do tell!


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